Comprehensions
by Firestar121
Summary: A "foreigner" finds his destiny unexpectedly as he struggles to make sense of why he was brought here
1. C1: Unexpected Visitor

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS OF THE SUIKODEN SERIES BUT I HAVE PLAYED THEM AND ROUGHLY KNOW TH EVENTS OF WHICH I AM WRITING ABOUT.

In the forest of Ryube Village, a distortion of the magical energies surrounding the area has created a portal where a young man emerged from.

"Huh? Where am I? What happened?" exclaims the young man.

The young man manages to find a trail.

"Hmmm… I wonder where this path leads to?" the young man muses.

"The southbound trail leads to Ryube Village while the northbound trail leads to my house." says the man who just arrived from the north.

"Who are you?" asks the young man.

"My name is Tsai, and you?" replies the man.

"My name is Lans." answers the young man.

"Well then, Lans, why don't you come with me to my house and you can tell me all about your adventure."

"Adventure?? Is that what I'm doing?" Lans mused, as he follows Tsai to his house.

At Tsai's house, Lans and Tsai are eating their supper when they hear coming footsteps.

"Hmmm, by the sound of those footsteps, I would say there are about six of them, 2 of them are probably young men like you." says Tsai.

"Huh? You can tell that just by listening?" exclaims Lans.

"Lans, when you're living in the wilds, you'll learn things you'd never dreamed of. Anyway, we should escape. Here, take this." answers Tsai.

"Thanks, I bet this sword will come in handy" replies Lans.

"Now follow me, it's a good thing I built this secret entrance." says Tsai.

Outside Tsai's house, the two of them carefully moved around the house to the front where they spied the small group. As soon as the group entered the house, the two emerged from their hiding spot.

"Lans, I need you to go to Ryube Village and stay there until I get you. I have to find out what they want." says Tsai.

"All right, take care of yourself, Tsai. See you soon." replies Lans.

Lans runs off towards the village. Just as Lans was about to reach Ryube Village, he encounters 3 spiders. Raising his sword, Lans dodged the first two spiders but was bitten by the third spider. Feeling the effects of poison entering his system, Lans quickly attacks the spider that bit him. Although still an amateur at swordplay, Lans manages to kill the spider. Turning around at the remaining two spiders, he just had enough time to bring his sword up to block the attacking spider. Swinging his sword at a wide angle, Lans manages to slice the head of one spider. Holding his sword tightly, he rushes at the remaining spider and plunges his sword into the face. Exhausted, Lans lies down. As he lay there, he finally noticed the pile of money. Just as he puts the money in his pocket, Lans hears screams coming from the nearby village and the sound of coming footsteps. Gathering his last strength, he manages to hide himself just as a small patrol of blue-clad soldiers pass him by. Exhausted and badly wounded, Lans lies down on a nearby log. Meanwhile at the forest entrance of the burning Ryube Village, Tsai wonders what happened to his young friend that he believes he sent to his death. As the group of Riou and his friends leave the burning village, their hearts set to stop the madness of Luca Blight.


	2. C2: A Strange Companion A

In a cave in the Ryube Forest, a young white wolf rushes out of its home. As the wolf runs playfully around the clearing, it spots a sleeping figure near his play pen. As the wolf goes near the figure, the wolf feels something strange nearby. Looking around the clearing very carefully, the wolf is finally content that nothing dangerous is around. Continuing towards the sleeping figure, the wolf suddenly feels a very powerful aura nearing them. Standing very still the wolf frantically surveys the area. Seeing nothing, it carefully continues towards the figure. As the wolf finally reaches the sleeping figure, it feels the powerful presence again. Turning around, it sees a glowing silver wolf. The silver wolf speaks to it using telepathy.

'I am the Wolf God, Raijin. A strange destiny has befallen upon you. The figure near you is from another land, how he came here is not known to me but his innate power far surpasses those heroes of the past. You have been given the chance to accompany him through his journey. The question is not whether you will join him or not, it is in what form you will choose. Will you choose to be the same as you are now? Always faithful to him but be shunned by others that you will meet though he will care for you as though you are his family? Or will you take the form of one of his kindred species, there for him whenever he is in danger, learn from him and cared by him? Choose now. I have the power to grant you this one request, think carefully." Raijin said.

The wolf carefully thinks this offer carefully…

The wolf thinks back of it's past; it's mother, how poachers killed it's mother, fighting other wolves for food, playing with its friends, and the sweet smell of spring in the clearing...

Taking one last look at the sleeping figure, the wolf turns to the Wolf God and answers back...

"I want to be a ..." answers the wolf.

FOR THE REVIEWERS: PLEASE LET ME KNOW WETHER IT SHOULD BE A HUMAN OR A WOLF. YOUR INSIGHTS WILL MAKE THIS STORY MORE INTERESTING.


	3. C3: A Strange Companion B

"Lans…wake up! You have to wake up! You have many things to do and you can't do it sleeping. Wake up!" says the voice in his head.

Groggily, Lans begins to awake, carefully sitting down upright, he notices two wolves near him. Slowly grabbing the hilt of his sword and raising it carefully, he almost dropped it, when the white wolf was engulfed in a glowing light. Momentarily blinded by the sudden brightness, Lans was shocked to find that in the place of the wolf was a young woman wearing beige pants and a white t – shirt. Looking at the face of the young woman, he found it to be very beautiful. Turning to look at the giant wolf, he was surprised when he spoke to him.

"Lans, I'm glad to see you're awake. Don't be frightened, I am Raijin, the Wolf God and this is Lara." Raijin said.

"Uhm…hello." Lara says to Lans.

"Huh? Weren't you a wolf a while ago? Why are you here? Oh…my head." exclaims Lans.

"Don't worry so much, young man. Lara has decided to accompany you on your journey." Raijin informs Lans.

"Journey? This is a mistake. I'm not supposed to be here. This is all just a big misunderstanding." Lans said.

"A misunderstanding you say? Hmm… If this is a misunderstanding then why does the stars foretell our meeting in this very place." asks Raijin.

"It's because…uhm…I don't know okay. All I know is I have to find my friend Tsai." answers Lans.

"Very well, you will find the answers you are seeking for in the village nearby. Lans please take care of Lara. She still has some abilities from being a wolf so she might prove useful but above all please remember that you have to teach her on the proper ways of being human. Lara, take care of yourself, child." said Raijin before disappearing.

The two of them stare at the night sky quietly. When…

"So your name is Lara, right?" asks Lans.

"Yeah…uhm…your name is Lans?" replies Lara.

"Yeah…so I guess we'll be going together right." answers Lans.

"I guess…" replies Lara.

"Look, don't worry about a thing. I'll be there when you need, I promise. Uhm… here are some gloves I got. Since you were a wolf, you might be good at punching." says Lans.

"Yeah, I'm not really good at that but maybe you can teach me a bit?" asks Lara.

"Sure, it's getting late. Come on, we have a long way to go." replies Lans.

Taking her hands, the two of them walks away from the clearing towards the nearby village of Ryube.


	4. C4: The Impending Attack

The two of them were chatting amiably, together about their future plans while they were walking towards the forest gate.

"So to punch is to push your hands forward?" asks Lara

"Kind of, uhm…it's kind of like this." answers Lans.

Standing next to a tree, Lans punches it hard with his right fist. A small grimace of pain flickered past his face. Grabbing his hand, he …

"Damn! That tree was really hard." says Lans, slowly rubbing his hand.

"So after every punch, I say damn?" asks Lara.

"NO!! Never say that especially when fighting" replies Lans.

"Oh, okay." answers Lara.

They continue walking the forest trail encountering no enemies. 'Hmm, that's strange, why aren't there no monsters around' wonders Lans when…

"Hey! What's that burnt smell…oh my God!" exclaims Lans as they entered through the forest gate.

The entire Ryube Village was burned to the ground. The remaining buildings that were still standing were badly scorched and had openings in the roofs. The ground was covered with scorched marks near the buildings while numerous corpses littered the street.

"Lans, what happened to village?" asks Lara.

"I don't know, Lara." answers Lans.

Just then a small group of people arrived at the village gate. Lans calls out to them.

"Hey! Can you tell me what happened here?" asks Lans.

"Huh? You mean you didn't hear? Prince Luca and his soldiers from Highland attacked our village last night." replied the village elder.

"Why would bad men attack village?" asks Lara.

"It's because Highland wants a war with Jowston." answers the village elder.

"Lans, what's war?" asks Lara.

"War is something very terrible…and we must help put a stop to this war." replies Lans.

"Well, if you're interested to help like Tsai, then you should go to the fort nearby that's owned by Viktor and Flik." answered a young man.

"Yes, a bunch of the young men that survived the attack went there to enlist in their mercenary band." continued the village elder.

"Really? Well then that settles it, where going to the fort. Come on, Lara" replied Lans.

As the two left Ryube Village, nearby on top a small mountain they were watched by Raijin. Taking one last look at the dark haired boy and the red haired girl walking towards their future, Raijin raced down the mountain.

Walking towards the fort was proving to be uneventful for the two of them. As they walked on the trail, they were surprised to meet up with two village men. Seeing the two men, Lara's blue eyes flew wide open and immediately went behind Lans her expression covered in fear. Surprised to see this kind of behaviour, questioned her…

"Lara, what's wrong?" inquired Lans.

"Those two men attacked me a few days ago." answered Lara.

"When you were still a wolf?" asked Lans.

Lara slowly nodded.

"Okay, don't worry. They won't attack you anymore, I'll be here to protect you. I promise." answered Lans.

"Okay, Lans…you promised." replied Lara.

Going near the two villagers. Lans called out to them.

"Hey! Where are you two headed?" called Lans.

"Huh? Where going to Viktor's fort" answered the blond haired person.

"Yeah, and you?" asked the dark haired person.

"Were going there also." answered Lara.

"Really, why don't we go together. By the way I'm Max." answered the dark haired person.

"Yeah, and I'm Peter and we came from Ryube Village." replied the blond haired person.

"That's a good idea. Anyway, I'm Lans and the red haired girl with me is Lara." answered Lans.

"Where you from?" inquired Peter.

"Were travellers." answered Lans.

"Oh… so that explains why we never saw you. Why you going to Viktor's fort?" asked Max.

"I'm joining my new friend Tsai." replied Lans.

'Wait! You know Tsai of the Divine Spear?" asked Peter.

"Well, yeah." answered Lans.

"That is so cool!" exclaimed Max.

"Yeah" answered Peter.

"Lans, bad men coming." said Lara.

"Bad men?" asked Peter.

"Yup." answered Lara.

"Guys, I think we'd better…" began Lans.

"HALT!!!" a voice shouted nearby.

Looking towards the source of the voice…

"Damn! It's a highland patrol unit." exclaimed Max.

"We can take 'em." answered Peter confidently.

"Hey! There's twelve of them and only four of us." answered Lans.

"So? The two of us are good archers plus we have your sword. I don't know about your girlfriend though." replied Peter.

"Hey! She's not my girl…" Lans stopped when Lara looked at him.

"Forget it, here they come." answered Peter.

"Lans! You and Lara wait for our initial attack before charging at them. Do you guys have runes? No, I didn't think so. Peter come on!" said Max.

"RAIN OF ARROWS!" shouted Max and Peter.

The highland soldiers were suddenly showered by numerous arrows. Two of them fell from initial assault.

"Lans! Lara! GO!" shouted Max.

Drawing his sword, Lans parried the attack of the Highland soldier with his sword. Kicking him in the chest caught the soldier by surprise and he fell down. Using the side of the blade, Lans walloped the soldier's head knocking him unconscious. Feeling something whiz by him, he turned around to find a soldier clutching his throat where an arrow was impaled on. Turning to the archers, he waved his thanks before rushing towards the remaining soldiers.

Lara on the other hand was having more fun. Seeing Lans charging at the bad men, she imitated him. Upon reaching a soldier, she punched him in the face…hard. The man crumpled to the ground with a broken nose. Noticing two soldiers rushing towards her new "friends", she grabbed the fallen soldier and threw him at the two soldiers running dropping them where they fell. Waving at them, she rushed towards the remaining bad men.

Max and Peter were busy mowing down the soldiers that were causing problems for their friends. When the two soldiers were rushing towards them, they were hurriedly rearming themselves when the soldiers fell down. Looking towards the source, they were surprised to find Lara waving at them before rushing towards the remaining soldiers. The two of them watched as Lans drove his sword into a soldiers chest. Seeing an enemy crossbowman aiming for Lans, Max and Peter shot their arrows at him, both hits proved fatal, one on the forehead and the other at the throat. Peter turned to watch Lara punch a soldier in the face and was shocked when the soldier went tumbling backwards before hitting a tree. Finally the only soldier remaining was the patrol unit leader. Max and Peter shot at his legs rendering them useless. The Patrol Leader was really scared at these guys and began to beg them to spare his life.

"Please don't kill me! Please show mercy!" begged the Patrol Leader.

"Did you show mercy to the villagers of Ryube Village?" snarled Peter.

"But…but…I wasn't part of that unit. That was led by Prince Luca Blight! Please!" answered the Patrol Leader.

"Lans, what do you think?" asked Max.

"Hmm… hey, we'll spare your life if you tell us about the plans for the Highland Army." replied Lans.

"What!" exclaimed Peter.

"OH! Thank you! Thank you! The Highland Army will be attacking the fort in over an hour." replied the Patrol Leader.

"What! Guys, we got to hurry and help them out!" exclaimed Lans.

"All right. Let's go!" replied Max.

"Fine." Peter replied.

Hurrying off towards the fort, Peter asked Lans a question.

"Why did you spare that bastard's life?" asked Peter.

"Do you really think he'll survive on his own surrounded by blood?" replied Lans.

"Oh!" answered Peter.

As the four of them raced towards the fort, none of them realized that the man they spared was lying and that the attack on the fort they were racing to help out was already underway.


	5. C5: Full Retreat

Running as fast as they could through the trail towards Viktor's fort, the four travelers saw to their surprise that the fort was already being attacked.

"What the! It's already being attacked?" asked Lans.

"We should still have about a half hour before the assault began. What happened?" asked Peter.

"I think we've been lied to. From the looks of things, the battle has already been going on for awhile now." answered Max.

"Now what?" asked Peter.

"We go through the forest to reach the base undetected and surprise the enemies." answered Lans.

"Good plan. Come on let's go" replied Max.

Dashing through the forest quickly, they navigated the small area with relative ease. Emerging from the other side near the east wall, they managed to ambush an enemy unit.

"RAIN OF ARROW" shouted Max and Peter.

The sneak attack was an immediate success with the death of half the soldiers in the unit. Quickly rushing in, Lans and Lara began to fight the remaining soldiers.

Meanwhile nearby at the gate.

"Huh? What the? Who are those people?" asked Viktor.

"I don't know but we'd better get them inside." replied Flik.

"Riou! Get to those people and assist them. Quickly" shouted Viktor.

"Alright!" Riou shouted back.

The ambush proved relatively successful but the remaining soldiers were determined to fight back. Lans was busy parrying the attacks from the soldiers while Lara punched at those who came near. Max and Peter were also busy firing numerous arrows to harass the soldiers attacking their two friends. Just when Lans and Lara were about to be overwhelmed they heard a loud shout coming towards them. Suddenly, the Orange unit led by Riou and Jowy attacked the remaining Highland soldiers. Seeing reinforcements, Lans and Lara renewed their attacks and managed to destroy the Highland unit.

"Hey! You guys, good work but we have to pull back to the gate." called out Riou.

"Sure! No problem." replied Lans.

"Max! Peter! Let's go!" shouted Lara.

"Coming!" replied Peter.

Moving quickly towards the gate with little trouble, the group was greeted with much praise.

"Good work, Riou and Jowy. You managed to save our new friends." congratulated Viktor to the two young men.

"Yeah and because of our new friends, they didn't manage to break through the eastern wall." said Flik.

"Yeah. Who are you guys?" asked Viktor.

"We're from the Ryube Village and we came to offer our services to your fight against Highland." answered Max.

"and were travelers from another land, and I heard that my friend…" continued Lans.

"Lans? Is that you? Thank the runes, you're still alive." Tsai called out when he saw Lans.

"Tsai. I see your safe, my friend." replied Lans.

"I see the two of you are friends. Why don't the four of you go rest for awhile. While we survey the damage." answered Flik.

"Thank you!" replied the four of them before going inside the fort.

Inside the fort. Lans informed Tsai what happened carefully avoiding the transformation of Lara.

"Incredible, it's good that you arrived here to help but I fear that your arrival may not be enough. We need more men. Quite frankly, I'm surprised we didn't' find you considering you were near the trail but then I suppose we were too busy watching the destruction of Ryube" answered Tsai.

"Yeah! We're gonna pay back Luca Blight for this." replied Peter.

"Yeah…" Max added.

Suddenly the door bursts open.

"We're being attacked again! Soldiers! To your units." called out a soldier.

"What! Again?" asked Lans.

"Don't worry about it, Lans. With us around, we'll surely win!" boasted Peter.

"Urgh…don't be so arrogant, Peter. Anyway, let's go." replied Max.

The three of them left.

"Uhm, Lans…" Lara began.

"Yeah, what's the matter?" asked Lans.

"Uhmm…. nothing, come on". Lara replied before running outside.

"Weird" Lans said before running out.

The mercenary group was forced to stay within the fort while the Highland Army approached closer. Suddenly…

"What the! They're also attacking from behind!" shouted Viktor.

Inside the square, Flik informed the soldiers to retreat to Muse City.

"Come on, let's go!" said Peter.

"Yeah. Fire really bad" answered Lara.

"Fine! Let's go!" replied Lans.

Just as they were about to leave, they met up with Tsai and Rikimaru.

"Come on, Lans. Let's go to Muse City before we get caught." Tsai called out.

"All right! Come on, let's go!" shouted Lans.

As the group ran through the forest, Lans paused to watch the fort burn and wondered briefly where this road will take, before running after his friends.


	6. C6: The Misdirected Escape

It's been two days since the fall of the mercenary fort. Lans and his friends managed to team up with Tsai and Rikimaru during the escape. Due to the sense of direction (or lack off) of Rikimaru, the group went south instead of north thus getting farther away from Muse.

"All right…you mean to tell me that Muse is the other way?" asked Peter quietly.

"Quite possibly yes." replied Max.

"Now that I think about it, yes, Muse is northwest of the mercenary fort…not southwest." continued Tsai.

"So your saying, that all that hard work dodging the Highland Patrols, nights of backbreaking sleep, and constant battling was for nothing!" shouted Peter.

"In essence…yes." replied Max.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" shouted Peter really loud.

"Peter! Quiet down! You want the patrols to find us?" retorted Lans.

"It doesn't matter! We messed up! And all because we trusted this blue robed freak when he said follow me. Argh!" replied Peter.

"Hey! I'm no freak and what's wrong with wearing blue robes, young pup." answered back Rikimaru.

"Don't worry so much, Peter. We'll just pass through Radat and take a boat from Kuskus to Coronet and we'll be in Muse in no time." replied Tsai.

"But that will take DAYS!!! We don't have time for that." retorted Peter.

"PETER! Quiet down! Were going through Radat and that's FINAL!" answered Lans.

"Ooh…Lans mad" replied Lara.

"Humph! Fine." answered back Peter.

"Finally, peace and quite." said Max.

"Oh! Buzz off, Max!" retorted Peter.

"Quiet, I hear a patrol coming." said Tsai.

Dashing to a nearby brush, the group hides themselves. Soon after a large Highland patrol passes by.

"Hey! You hear the news?" asked one Highland swordsman.

"What?" replied the Highland spearman.

"I heard that will be blockading Radat Town soon." answered the swordsman.

"Really? That's rough for them. Hehehehe" replied the spearman.

"HEY! You two, stop your yapping. Where going back to camp. Move out!" shouted the Highland Captain.

"Dumbass!" hissed the swordsman.

The spearman chuckled quietly before the two of them ran after the group. Waiting until the patrol unit was far away, the group emerged from their hiding place.

"Did you hear that? We gotta hurry to Radat now." Tsai said to the group.

"Yeah! We gotta hurry and fast!" continued Rikimaru forcefully.

"Huh? Why you so forceful?" asked Peter.

"Are you crazy? Radat has the best seafood!" answered Rikimaru.

"Argh! I should have known." sighed Peter.

"Regardless, we have to go now. Come on." Lans said.

The group ran all afternoon towards Radat. Just when the sun was setting, they crossed the bridge. Going towards the inn, they booked rooms and were just almost about to eat when they heard that the pass to the east was blocked off by Highland soldiers. Smiling grimly at each other, they were know on their own without assistance.


	7. C7: Night Race

Chapter 7:

That night, at the inn in Radat, the six weary fighters retired for the night. Lans was sleeping, having a disturbing dream, unaware of the arrival of General Solon Jhee's personal entourage.

"Lans…" murmurs the voice in his head.

"Who are you?" asks Lans.

"Lans…you must prevent the…" continues the voice.

"Prevent what?" asked Lans.

Only silence answered him back. Just then, the place started to shake.

"What the!" shouted Lans.

In his room, Lans was rudely awakened by Richmond.

"Hey! Lans, wake up!" hisses Richmond.

"Huh, who are you? How do you know my name?" asks Lans groggily.

"Hurry up! Highland troops are right here! You gotta get out of here and fast!" whispers Richmond.

"What?" asks Lans, now fully awake.

"I just woke up the others and they are waiting for you outside. You have to hurry, someone has provided horses for the six of you." continues Richmond.

"Thank you. We'll see you again." Lans said gratefully.

Exiting the inn, Lans found his friends nearby all riding black horses and a dark brown horse that was without a rider. Quickly jumping on the horse's saddle, Lans motioned the others to ride toward Kuskus. Just when the riders were about to leave, they were spotted by a Highland patrol.

"Stop! Stay where you are!" shouted the Highland Captain.

"Damn! We have to go now!" Peter hissed to the group.

"Your right. Come on! Let's ride!" shouted Lans before he rushes out of Radat.

The rest of the group also chases after him.

"Damn! Call the riders! After them!" shouted the Highland Captain to his men.

The six riders were galloping across the plains towards Kuskus. Just then, five Highland soldiers riding horses caught up to them.

"Peter! Max! Try to shoot them down." shouted Lans.

"I can't get a good aim!" shouted back Max.

"Then we'll have to fight them when they get nearer." shouted Lans to the rest of the group.

The Highland soldiers soon caught up to the riders. Unsheathing his sword, Lans waited until one was right next to him before plunging it into the soldier's shoulder. The wounded soldier fell from the horse. Meanwhile, the others were having similar success; Lara punched one off his horse and hit a nearby tree, Tsai plunged his spear into a soldier's chest and was thrown off the horse, Rikimaru wounded another soldier's chest which fell him from the horse, while Max and Peter shot arrows at the shoulders of the last soldier which threw the soldier off pinning him to the ground. Flushed with their success, they rushed on towards Kuskus.

Just when the sun was rising, the six riders reached Kuskus.


	8. C8: Boat Trouble

The townspeople of Kuskus were just about to begin there day's work when Lans and his friends arrived. The party rushed to the port to see if there were any boats sailing for Coronet.

"Sorry sir, but there just ain't nobody willing to sail to Coronet considering the Highland Army is making their way to Muse." answered the Port Attendant.

"Isn't there any sailor willing to go?" Max asked.

"Well...there might be a fellow but his price is kind of outrageous." the attendant slowly replied.

"We'll take a chance." answered Lans.

"Well, then you'll have to go to the nearby inn and look for Tai Ho. Also..." replied the attendant.

"All right! Let's go!" Peter enthusiastically said before rushing off.

"Stupid Peter. He goes off to the inn before man is finished speaking." remarked Lara.

"Hehehe, that's a good one, Lara." praised Rikimaru.

"Quiet! He's calling us." remarked Tsai.

"GUYS!!!! HURRY UP!!!!" shouted Peter.

The attendant coughed.

"Oh, sorry. You were saying?" asked Lans.

"As I was saying, you might need to get around 2000 or so potch if you'll try him." continued the attendant.

"Thanks for the info." replied Max.

"GUYS!!!!!!" shouted Peter.

"We're coming!" shouted back Lara.

"OKAY!!!" Peter shouted back.

"...you know...Lara is right, Peter IS sometimes stupid." remarked Max.

"Well, at least he's a good archer. Come on, let's go." answered Lans.

The group decided to raise some money first before going to Tai Ho, so they left Kuskus and began hunting.

Their first encounter was a Target Lady and 5 Dark Bunny. Lans began by attacking the Target Lady, raising his sword high, he brought it down to the shoulder of the Target Lady badly wounding it. Max raised his bow and killed the Target Lady with an arrow to her chest. Peter shot an arrow at one of the Dark Bunny but it dodged the arrow. Tsai attacked another Dark Bunny and managed to kill it with a critical strike through the bunny's head. Rikimaru dashed to the Dark Bunny across from him and slashed the chest of the bunny but due to fatigue he only wounded it slightly. Lara ran to the wounded bunny and punched it hard in the face which dazed it. The 4 remaining Dark Bunny's focused their attacks on Tsai. Tsai managed to dodge two of the axes but was hit on both his shoulders by the remaining two axes which brought him to his knees. Lans seeing the danger Tsai was in, brought out one of the medicines he bought at Radat and used it on Tsai. Max and Peter decided to use their "Rain of Arrows" and managed to kill 2 of the remaining Dark Bunny's while badly wounding the rest. Rikimaru seizing the opportunity rushed to one of the wounded Dark Bunny's and lopped of his head. Lara tried imitating Rikimaru by punching the head of the last Dark Bunny but missed, jumping back quickly she just managed to evade the counterattack. Tsai attacked the remaining one which pierced the chest. The group was elated with their victory and more so when they found out that Dark Bunny's dropped a Celadon Urn and receive 2,350 potch. Flushed with their success, they returned to Kuskus.

They rushed to a nearby shop and sold the Celadon Urn for 10,000 potch. Outside they began to discuss their plans.

"Hey, guys! Listen we need to plan out our strategy." began Max.

"Sure, but I don't think if all of us goes to meet Tai Ho. So I'll go alone." continued Lans.

"No! I'm going with you, Lans." protested Lara.

"But..." began Lans.

"Hmm, not a bad idea. So the two of you go meet Tai Ho, while me and Peter will buy supplies." Max answers.

"Yeah, and I'll go ask the townspeople for information about the Highland activities here." continued Tsai.

"And I will go to the inn also because I am starving!" remarked Rikimaru.

"...Fine, your fighting was a bit off. Here's a thousand potch." replied Lans.

"All right, we'll meet at the gates at noon." continued Max.

"All right" everyone replied.

The group dispersed themselves and began their assigned tasks.

TO READERS: REVIEWS ARE WELCOMED!


	9. C9: Lucky Dice

Lans and Lara entered the nearby inn. Upon entering, they smelled the aroma of delicious foods and realized that they too were also hungry. Resolving to finish this quickly, they went to talk to the innkeeper.

"Sir, have you seen Tai Ho?" asked Lans.

"Tai Ho, why yes, he's over there in the corner with his brother eating." replied the Innkeeper.

"Thank you, mister." replied Lara.

The two went towards Tai Ho's table.

"Brother, someone's here to see you." Yam Koo said.

"Mhmmm" Tai Ho replied with his mouth full.

"Excuse me, Tai Ho, would you mind taking us to Coronet?" asked Lans.

"Please wait, while my brother finished he's food." answered Yam Koo.

After awhile…

"Now, tell me why you want to go to Coronet?" asked Tai Ho.

"Well, were trying to get back to our group who's heading towards Muse." replied Lans.

"Really? Did you know that the Highland Army is marching towards Muse?" asked Yam Koo.

"No. That's the reason why where trying to go back to our group." answered Lans.

"Hmmm….well, how about this, if you beat me at Chinchirorin, I'll take you there." Tai Ho said.

"I agree. How much is it?" confirmed Lans.

"2000 potch." replied Tai Ho.

Grabbing three dices from inside his robe, they begin to play. Tai Ho goes first but immediately rolls a 4-5-6.

"Shucks, that's the fastest way Lady Luck ever told me what to do." groaned Tai Ho.

"So a deals a deal?" asked Lans.

"Yeah, come on, Yam Koo. We'll be waiting at the docks." replied Tai Ho.

Tai Ho and Yam Koo leave the inn.

"Now, Lara, come on and let's eat." said Lans.

"Sure, Lans." answered Lara.

The two of them went to talk to the innkeeper and ordered some food.

MEANWHILE…


	10. C10: Unexpected Problems

At the Item Store in Kuskus, Peter was arguing with shopkeeper.

"Are you crazy? Medicines that looks like this doesn't cost that much! This is highway robbery!" shouted Peter at the shopkeeper.

"Peter, keep quiet! Your making a scene." hissed Max at Peter.

"But Max! Can't you see what this stuff looks like?" Peter said.

"Uhm, Peter, these medicines are just a few days old." replied Max.

"Well, uhm..." muttered Peter.

"Peter, why don't you go outside and do something useful?" asked Max.

"Oh… alright." muttered Peter.

Peter left the store. Max turns to the shopkeeper.

"Sorry about that, so how much is everything I asked?" Max said.

"…1,500 potch…for everything AND that includes the disturbance caused by your friend." replied the shopkeeper.

"Okay. Thank you." answered Max.

_MEANWHILE AT THE DOCKS_

"So from the looks of things, the Highland army is heading towards Muse…right?" asked Tsai.

"Yeah, and from the looks of things, this war will last much longer than the last one." replied the sailor.

"Thanks for the info. Here, for your troubles." Tsai said as he tossed a small pouch.

"Thanks. Take care of yourself, Tsai." said the sailor.

"You know I will, Trey." replied Tsai as he went back to town.

"Lucky guy, I bet this guy will be vital to this war. Oh well." Trey mused.

_AT THAT EXACT MOMENT AT THE INN_

"WAITRESS!!! MORE FOOD AND DRINKS!" shouted Rikimaru.

"Yes, sir." replied the waitress.

At the corner table, Lans and Lara watched their companion stuff himself to oblivion.

"It's probably better to leave him alone, right, Lara?" asked Lans.

"Yeah, from the looks of it, he's totally wasted." replied Lara.

"So let's continue our lunch." Lans said.

"Lets." Lara agreed.

_OUTSIDE THE TOWN_

Peter was walking around wondering what he should do, when he hears a scream to the south. Running as fast as he can, he finds the source of the scream. A beautiful young girl was being attacked by six zombies. Peter immediately notched three arrows into his Crescent Bow before firing it precisely between the eyes of three of the zombies who fell. Two of the zombies diverted their attention towards the newcomer. Peter shot an arrow at the head of the nearest zombie. Grabbing a spare arrow, Peter plunged the arrow into the other zombie's eye with his bare hands, and pulled it out and then fired it at the remaining zombie harassing the girl. Peter was quite pleased with himself, when a dark shadowy figure appeared. The shadowy figure cast an energy bolt at Peter which knocked him unconscious. The shadowy figure then grabbed the girl and Peter to the nearby castle.

_A FEW HOURS LATER AT THE DOCKS_

"All right! Where is Peter? Max?" asked Lans.

"I don't know, Lans. I told him to go out of the store for a bit but he didn't return." replied Max.

"This isn't good. Something's terribly wrong but I don't know what it is. Tsai, Rikimaru. Looks like the two of you will only be the ones going to Muse City." Lans said.

"What! But…" Tsai tried to argue.

"Listen, from the things you've been told, it looks like Muse will be attacked soon. You two are needed there and Peter needs us here. Now go. Meet us at South Window if you get the chance." answered Lans.

"Very well, good luck." Tsai said.

"You too." replied Max.

"Come on, let's go find Peter." Lans said to the group before going back to the town.


	11. C11: Brewing Troubles

Four days have passed since Peter disappeared. The war between Highland and Jowston has reached a stalemate with the recent skirmish in Muse where the Matilda Knights proved to be unreliable. Meanwhile, Lans and company where busy looking for clues as to Peter's whereabouts in South Window City. After another fruitless search, they retired to the Inn to rest.

"Argh! It's been a week and still we don't have a single shred of information on what happened to Peter." Lans remarked.

"Don't worry about it too much, Lans, knowing my brother, he's probably off with the ladies." replied Max.

At that moment, Peter was in the company of many beautiful ladies but not in the way the others imagined.

"Argh! I can't believe my luck! I'm starving and tired and these chains are chafing my skin. At least I'm with these hot ladies." mused Peter.

Peter looked around the large dungeon in which he found himself in when he awoke five days ago. Next to him was the young lady he though he rescued. He learned that they were in North Window, wherever that is and that he was the only male captive of Neclord. It was fortunate that he still had his bow and arrows but considering his hands were chained it was still useless.

"Hey! Bea! Are you awake?" Peter whispered to the girl.

"Yeah, I am. How can anyone sleep in this place is a mystery. So what now, Peter?" Bea whispered back.

"Don't worry my friends will come to save us… as soon as they realize where we are." Peter said confidently.

"I sure hope so." Bea answered back.

Lans and his friends were having a nice leisure dinner when Tsai dropped by.

"Hey guys, any luck finding Peter?" asked Tsai.

"Nope. No clue. This is really frustrating." replied Lara.

"Well, don't give up hope too much. The others are still holed up in Muse waiting for another Highland attack. That recent skirmish a few days ago brought us a new recruit. Gilbert from Zexen, he was a friend of Viktor and Flik, I think considering they were the ones who convinced him to join. Anyway, I might have a bit of news for you." answered Tsai.

"What is it?" asked Lans.

"Well, from what I've heard from the mayor, there seems to be an incident of disappearing girls in the area." replied Tsai.

"Why haven't we heard that before?" asked Lara.

"It's probably because the people are pinning these incidents on the Highland army but I don't know, we should probably check it out, Peter might have tried to save one of the victims." Max remarked.

"Good idea, anyway, I think its time to sleep. Tsai, when are you leaving? Maybe we can accompany you to Kuskus?" asked Lans.

"Tomorrow morning, early." replied Tsai.

"Then I guess, we'll have to turn in for now." answered Max.

That night, Lans and company enjoyed a peaceful rest. Meanwhile, at North Window dungeon, Peter was busy trying to find a way to free himself. With the help of Bea, he was able to retrieve on of his arrow and was just about to free himself when the shadowy figure returned. Fortunately for Peter, the figure's attention was focused on a young girl whose chains were released and her body started floating. Watching in horror, the figure began to feast on the girl before throwing her through a jagged hole in the wall.

The next day, Lans, Lara, and Max accompanied Tsai back to Kuskus. On the way, they intercepted a messenger from Muse. The messenger informed them that Muse is requesting assistance from South Window and to inform Tsai that the others needed him back there because tensions are high due to some unforeseen circumstances. The group hurried towards Kuskus. Upon arriving, they immediately went to check up on Tsai's transportation back to Coronet. At the docks, they found Tai Ho and Yam Koo waiting for them.

"Hey! KID! How are you?" Tai Ho called out to Lans.

"Everything's ok but we still haven't found our friend yet." answered Lans.

"Well, dont worry about it. He'll turn up sooner or later." replied Tai Ho.

"Tai Ho! Is everything ready for the trip back?" asked Tsai.

"Yeah, everything's ready but we'd better hurry, from the gossip around here, Muse is about to be taken soon." answered Tai Ho.

"Okay, we'll see you around, guys. I'll be back as soon as possible." Tsai said to Lans.

"Don't worry, we'll still be around. Take care of yourself." replied Max.

"Yeah, good bye, Tsai. We'll see you as soon as we find stupid Peter." continued Lara.

"Okay, bye!" called out Tsai as the boat leaves the port.

As the boat heads toward Coronet, the group heads toward the inn for lunch. Trey was enjoying a leisure day fishing when he spotted something floating nearby. Rowing towards the figure he was shocked to find the body of a young girl. She was able to tell him about the creature living in North Window and about the rest of the prisoners including Peter. Just before she died, Trey promised her that he will find a way to save her friends from suffering the same fate as her. Using his Wind Rune, he cast "Healing Wind" which pushed his boat back towards Kuskus.


	12. C12: The Trip

Lans and company were having a solemn dinner at the inn in Kuskus, when Trey burst in unexpectedly. Looking wildly around, he spotted who he was looking for. Rushing towards a patron eating nearby, Trey started talking to him. Max who was nearer to them was able to listen to them.

"Amada! Thank god your still here. You won't believe what happened to me! I was out by the lake near that destroyed city, fishing, minding my own business when all of a sudden, this girl FALLS down from out of nowhere! Of course naturally, I rowed towards where the girl fell. Man! When I brought the girl up, was she HOT! I mean, she was still young but man she looked damn sexy in those wet clothes and...," Trey was telling him before Amada cut in "Is there a point to this story?". "I'm coming to that, sheesh, you don't have to interrupt me when I'M telling the story." muttered Trey. "Well, excuse me! The next time something exciting happens to me, maybe I should tell it to you WHILE YOUR EATING DINNER." replied Amada. "Fine, fine, anyway, the point is, she told me that she came from that ruined city, North Window, and get this she was kidnapped by some guy calling himself the "Lord of Darkness". Can you believe it?" asked Trey. "Hardly, but I'm interested." answered Amada. "So this girl told me that a bunch of her friends are still holed up in the castle and there's also some guy called Peter and..." Trey was cut off when Max suddenly grabbed his collar. "Did you say Peter!! Did you!" asked Max frantically. "Yeah, geez, what's your problem?" asked Trey as he freed himself. "The problem is Peter is Max's brother. Did you say that he's trapped in that destroy castle with some guy whose a Lord of Darkness?" Lans said casually from his chair. "Hmm, now this is interesting." muttered Amada. "Yeah, and don't forget those girls he's with." replied Trey. "Alright, that settles it. Tomorrow morning, we're leaving for that castle." Max claimed. "Hey! Hey! You can't do that! I promised that girl that I would save them." retorted Trey. "Oh yeah! Well, Peter is our friend! and your just a meanie!" Lara said to Trey. "All right!! I've heard enough. Tomorrow morning, ALL OF US will go to that castle. Is that okay with you, Trey?" Amada said to everyone. "Yeah, thats okay with me." muttered Trey. "Ditto with me" Lara answered cheerfully. "It's all right with me." agreed Lans. "Yes, strength in numbers." Max mutters softly. "Now that that's settled, let's all get acquainted." Amada said before ordering another bowl of soup.

The night passed on with little excitement at Kuskus and the dungeon. Early the next morning, the group trudged slowly towards the pier. "Argh, my head. Never should have drank that much alcohol last night." muttered Lans as he bumped into Amada. "What's the matter, Lans? Don't tell me you can't handle a little liquor?" asked Amada. "A little he says, by my estimate, he ordered about 50 bowls of saki and a dozen cups of that nasty green slime, he says is weak stuff." mutters Max to himself. The group finally manages to reach the pier after a few stops where Lans, Max, and Trey were forced to hurl their hastily eaten breakfast.

"All right! We are going to enter the castle through the "secret" entrance which is directly beneath the city and leads directly to the dungeons." Amada proclaimed to the group, as they headed towards the castle. "Why is it called secret?" asked Lara. "It's because NO ONE ever thought about entering it from the sea, hahahahah!" answered Amada. "What a stupid answer." Max thought to himself. "That's a secret!!!" Lans thought to himself. "Oi" Trey mutters.

The trip went without any incident, but as they neared the cliff entrance, the water current began to push them back. The group frantically rowed towards the entrance while Trey was busy "blasting" the large waves coming towards them. As they neared the entrance, a sudden wave pushed them towards the cliff wall. Thinking instinctively, Max casts "Clay Guardian" on the boat just before it crashes into it leaving it intact. "Good work, Max." shouted Amada as he tries to push the boat into the narrow entrance. Once inside, the boat moored itself upon a nearby strip of land. Upon landing, the group quickly begins to dry off their soaking clothes.

As the group shakes off the excess water, Lara uses her new Fire Rune to light the torches which where difficult since it got soaked also. When the torches were lit, the group were surprised to see a small port inside the cave a set of stairs leading into a narrow pathway. Climbing up the stairs they were more surprised to see it filled with corpses coming towards them. The group quickly readies their weapons.

At this exact moment. Riou, Viktor, Freed, and Eilie heads toward North Window to investigate the disappearances of numerous young girls in the surrounding area.


	13. C13: Exasparating Thoughts

VIKTOR'S THOUGHTS:

Crap! Crap! Crap! I can't believe Neclord is still alive! Crap!

LAN'S THOUGHTS:

Man, these things are tough. I think we've been here for about a good two hours since we've arrived…but I still can't be sure… dang, I can't believe this… hope, we'll get through this quickly. My arm's getting sore from whacking the sword at this bunch of zombie's.

TREY'S THOUGHTS:

Great, this is just great. I came along, thinking these would be easy and all those young ladies would all fall over me for saving them INSTEAD I'm stuck with these guys fighting a bunch of stinking zombies, that for some reason is impervious to our weapons. This bites!

MAX'S THOUGHTS:

9996… 997… 998… 999… 1000… Damn. These guys are too many… wait, let me think about this objectively… I've used about 1000 arrows on just ONE zombie! I can't believe the resiliency of these things. At least the other zombies are drawn to Amada. Hmm, must be because he's pounding their heads happily… oh well, 1001…

AMADA'S THOUGHTS:

Ah, this is the life. Nonstop fighting… Hehehe I get a kick out of whacking these guy heads, but it's getting a bit tedious. Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about them haunting me in my dreams... oh, another one is standing up…

LARA'S THOUGHTS:

Eeew, my fists are getting tired from smashing their faces so much. I'm beginning to stink. Thank goodness, my instincts have been tempered or else I would be biting these creatures. Oh…shouldn't have thought that… I think I'm going to puke…

LAN'S THOUGHTS:

Hey, Lara looks funny… Oh my god! I can't believe she's puking in the middle of a battle. I'd better get closer…

TREY'S THOUGHTS:

What is that girl doing! Puking at this time, at least Lans is going over to help her… and Max… and Amada too!!! Hmmm… better get near them… wouldn't want to seem ungrateful or anything…

VIKTOR'S THOUGHTS:

I cannot believe I am going back to fetch that nagging, self – inflated, egotistical sword. Argh! Why did you have to be alive, NECLORD!!!

KAHN MARLEY'S THOUGHTS:

… Where the hell is Viktor?!

STAR DRAGON SWORD'S THOUGHTS:

Hmm… I feel a familiar person nearby… I feel… a giant bear man coming… ahh, Viktor… it's nice of him to visit me… after all these years, I think it's time for a little welcome back gift….

NECLORD'S THOUGHTS:

Hmmm, they have arrived at last… Time to leave…

STAR DRAGON SWORD'S THOUGHTS:

Humph, my very presence seems to have removed the invulnerability of these pathetic zombies.

AMADA'S THOUGHTS:

I'm having so much fun, whacking these senseless creatures and… whoops, I think one of them is down for good…

LANS', LARA'S, MAX'S, and TREY'S THOUGHTS:

FINALLY! We can finally remove these nuisances!

AMADA'S THOUGHTS:

Dang, and I was having too much fun… shame

ZOMBIE'S THOUGHTS:

Oh oh… we're done for… dead 


	14. C14: Underground Battle

Lans and his friends continue on their way through the underground passageway.

"So, what do we do once we find Peter" Lans asked the others. "I dunno, if what Trey says is true, then Peter MUST have been trying to save a girl, right?" answered Lara. "Shhhh. Do you hear that?" asked Amada. A distant roaring could be heard coming from deeper inside the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Riou and his companions; Viktor, Freed, Kahn, Nanami, and Eilie, are busy fighting the Abomination, a monstrous creature left by Neclord.

As the group continues on the tunnel, they meet up with more zombies. The group quickly dispatches them and continues on their way. After a few more distractions from the zombies, they emerge unto a large cavern.

"Wow, what a large room" remarked Lara. "Yes, we'd best be on our guard." added Max. "Ha! After all those zombies we killed, I doubt anyone or ANYTHING is going to fight us!" boasted Trey. Amada punches Trey's head. "STUPID! These zombies are easy, they are nothing compared to Highland soldiers" shouted Amada. Just then a figure appeared in the center of the room.

"Hmmm, more guests inside my castle. Humph." remarked the figure. "Who are you?" asked Lans. "I am Neclord! And you are nothing but trespassers!" answered Neclord. Neclord summoned a huge skeleton carrying a huge sword. "Enjoy this treat" remarked Neclord before dissapearing. "Guys! Get ready!" shouted Lans before the giant skeleton lunged towards them.

The giant skeleton raises his sword and slams it near Trey. Trey avoids the attack but was knocked back unto a pillar. Lara seizes her chance and lands a good solid punch on the skeleton's feet; her attack manages to crack the bone. Just as Max was aiming an arrow at the cracked area, the giant skeleton slams his hand down ruining Max's aim. Lans jumped on the fist and began climbing up its arm. Jumping high up, Lans slashes at the skeleton's face before landing on its nose and jumping backwards to the ground. Just as Lans landed on the ground, the skeleton raised his sword again and brought it down towards Trey. Amada rushed towards Trey and managed to push him out of the way just before the sword slammed on the pillar bringing it down on Amada.

Meanwhile, Peter was finally able to open his chains, thanks to his arrow, which he used to hack it free from the brittle rocks. "Bea, I'm finally free! Stay here, I'll come back with my friends." stated Peter. "No way! I'm coming with you!" remarked Bea as Peter frees her from her chains. "Okay, but be quiet." Peter informed her. "No worries, I'm good with this", Bea remarked as she picked up a spear lying on the ground. "Okay, let's go!" Peter said before they entered through the passageway.


	15. C15: Unexpected Rescue

"Peter, do you even know where you're going?" asked Bea.

"Of course, I know. Unlike you, I was able to remember the path those zombies took us." answered Peter.

"Oh… okay." muttered Bea.

A few minutes of silence passed by as the two of them went deeper into the underground tunnels.

"Wait a minute!" Bea suddenly exclaimed.

"We weren't carried here by zombies! We were brought in by that flying black caped man. You don't know where you're going… Do you!" shouted Bea, waving her spear at Peter's face.

Peter shuffles his feet before answering, "Your right… but look at it this way, this path should lead us somewhere, right?"

"Fine, lead on, Peter" Bea replied.

Meanwhile, their rescuers were having a hard time against the giant skeleton conjured up by Neclord, which is further compounded when Amada was incapacitated when he saved Trey. While Lans was busy clearing away the rubble on top of Amada, the others continued the battle against the Giant Skeleton.

Max was able to shoot an arrow at the cracked area, when Lara slammed into him, dodging the giant sword when it hit where Max was previously standing. Trey ran behind the Giant Skeleton and proceeded to smash his weapon to the skeleton's feet with all his might, his weapon was completely destroyed. Grabbing a rusted axe, Trey continued hacking away at the skeleton's feet. After saving Max, Lara grabbed a large piece of rubble and threw it at the skeleton's head knocking it back. Upon seeing that skeleton was falling backward, Trey jumped away just before it fell on the ground. Max was aiming at the skeleton's cracked head, when it suddenly released a massive roar. Everyone covered their ears as the shockwave dazed the fighters. The shockwave also caused a pile of rubble to fall down on the passageway back to the boat, thereby blocking their means of escape.

Upon hearing the roar, Peter grabbed Bea's hand and ran towards the source of the roar.

"Peter! What are you doing!" asked Bea, as Peter pulled her after him.

"That roar we just heard, if I had to guess, the others are here to save us, and they need our help!" replied Peter, as they ran down the tunnel.

After that roar, things began to look bleak for the rescuers. Max was not able to dodge the skeleton's feet when it tried to kick him, Max hit the wall hard, knocking him out. Trey who was standing on a pile of rubble was wounded badly, when the pile of rubble was shattered into tiny rocks from the shockwaves. Lara was able to withstand the shockwaves and continue the fight… alone. Lans was finally able to free Amada from the rubble, thanks to the shockwaves generated from the skeleton's roar, which shattered the remaining rubbles on top of Amada. Lans began to drag Amada to the passageway that was unblocked while Lara continued the battle.

Lara dodged every attack made by the Giant Skeleton thanks to her speed and agility which came from her past form and also in part of the skeleton's slow attacks. After dodging another punch from the Giant Skeleton, Lara decided to repay the favour and delivered her own punch unto the Giant Skeleton's fist. Lara's attack shattered some of the skeleton's fingers. Following up on her attack, she climbed on top of the skeleton's arm and delivered a powerful attack on its head, which shattered the bones revealing a small glowing orb on the forehead. Just as Lara was about to land, the Giant Skeleton backhanded her, sending her flying towards Lans who finally managed to drag Amada to the entrance. The Giant Skeleton raised its sword to finish them off when…

A "Twing" sound was heard coming from the passageway.

An arrow suddenly plunged itself into the Giant Skeleton's exposed glowing orb. The Giant Skeleton gave a loud shout before exploding into tiny pieces. Lans looked towards the passageway and saw…


	16. C16: Humorous Reunion

Peter standing at the other entrance of the large cave, with his bow resting at his side, smiling at Lans. Beside him was a girl, Lans didn't recognize but judging from the spear on her hands, Lans assumed that she was with Peter, presumably the girl he was trying to rescue.

Standing up slowly, Lans made his way to Peter and shook his hands gratefully and said chidingly, "You know, you could have come here a bit sooner."

Peter laughed and replied, "Yeah, but then I wouldn't be able to be the savior of the day, right?"

"Yeah, but still it wouldn't have been TOO much trouble if you had shown up sooner, Peter" grumbled Lara as she rubbed her sides where the skeleton backhanded her.

"Good to see you too, Lara." Peter answered back.

"Come on, let's take care of the others, they ARE badly hurt" the girl told the rest of them, emphasizing on the gravity of their injuries.

"Yeah, you're right…" Lans replied as he made his way back to Amada before turning around and asking "Who are you exactly?"

"Yeah, I would like to know that myself." Peter asked as he walked towards them albeit with a limp on his left side.

"I'm Bea, and this must be the rescue party you told me about, Peter." Bea answered

"Yeah, but it looks like we ended up saving them" Peter answered before moving forward to help his brother.

"Even so, you should be thankful that we are here." Lara retorted back angrily before sliding on the ground rubbing her hips where blood was now seeping through her shirt.

"Let me take a look at that" Bea answered when she noticed Lara's injury. As she moved forward, Lans extended a couple of medicinal herbs to her, which she accepted before lifting Lara's shirt and rubbing the medicinal herbs on her wounds. Slowly, Lara's face eased into an expression of relief as the pain subsided.

Lans walked towards the unconscious form of Trey and felt for his pulse, he was relieved to find Trey still alive. Calling out to Peter, "Hey Peter, I need your help in carrying Trey over to the entrance."

Peter ran over to Lans just as soon as Max was sitting comfortably on the ground and joined Lans in lifting Trey over to the rest of them, where Amada finally woke up.

"Ah, you're pretty lass aren't you?" Amada whispered softly as he was still in pain, when he saw Bea.

Bea blushed a bit before handing over the apple; Lara gave her, to Amada.

As the group tended to their wounds the rest of Viktor's mercenaries arrived in North Window, still unaware of the imprisoned townspeople beneath the castle.


	17. C17: The Rescue and the Past

After the others tended to their wounds, they turned their attention towards Trey, who was still unconscious and whose clothes were now beginning to get soaked with his own blood from the wound on his back when he hit the pillar.

Lans asked as he cleaned his sword for the seventh time, "Bea, anything new on Trey?"

Looking up from her work, Bea gave him a withering glance before wiping her forehead with her hand before answering, "Yeah, I finally managed to clean the wound and slowed down the bleeding but we'll need more than herbs to treat this kind of wound. We NEED to get him out of this place."

Amada who was busy pacing back and forth around the cavern was getting extremely agitated with worry over Trey's condition and looked as though he wanted to forcibly move Trey from this place but held his peace when Bea pointed out that doing so would only cause more problems to Trey's well-being. Finally, he sat near Trey and began to berate himself, "I shouldn't have brought him here… I can't believe I'm so stupid…"

Lans seeing this moved closer to Amada and tried to comfort him, "Don't worry about it, we all knew the risks when we agreed to look for Peter and the imprisoned girls."

Max who was busy assisting Bea, suddenly looked up and exclaimed, "That's right… I completely forgot about them, but where are the other prisoners?!"

Lans was equally embarrassed when he realized that he also forgot about them. Turning towards Peter who was sitting nearby, he asked, "So Peter, where are the other imprisoned females?"

Peter sparing a glance at Lans, motioned to the entrance where he came from and answered glumly, "Inside there… but I don't know where exactly."

Lara who was lying on the floor, abruptly stood up and went towards Lans before saying, "Let's go find them, Lans."

Lans was surprised at this statement was unable to react when Lara grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the other passageway. As the pair entered the passage, Max shouted at them, "Be careful, we'll handle things with Trey, you two go look for help!"

Meanwhile, Riou and the others have decided to make a stand against the Highland Army invading South Window territory at North Window. Apple accompanied by Riou and his companions traveled towards Radat to convince a former apprentice of Mathiu Silverberg to help them fight back, while the others went to work in clearing the place of the rubbles and debris, while training the men for the upcoming battle.

As the pair explored the dark passageway, aided by the light from Lara's Fire Rune, they came upon a split in the passageway. As they began to contemplate on which path to take, they heard the faint echoes of cries for help but the cavern walls made it difficult to discern which path the sounds came from. Fortunately for them there was a faint gust of wind, which enabled Lara to "smell" the imprisoned people who were in the left path. After glancing at Lara uncertainly, Lans agreed and followed Lara as they went deeper into the underground cavern. The further they went, Lans noticed a change in the walls, the cavernous walls were suddenly replaced with walls connected with underground passageways.

"Lara, I think we're underneath the castle right now. In fact, I think we're in one of the castle's underground passageways." Lans stated to Lara.

Lara sniffed the air one more time before answering Lans, "Your right, I can faintly smell the scent of humans although its faded considerably… but…"

Lans who was too busy staring at the walls and listening intently to Lara didn't notice the loose stone and tripped over it and landed hard on his chest. The impact jarred the settled dust around the floor and caused it to cascade over Lans sprawled figure. As Lans stood up slightly embarrassed, he brushed his hands over his clothes to remove the dust off of himself, before he motioned Lara to continue, "But what?"

At this point, Lara began giggling at the sight of Lans whose face and hair was still covered with dust making his black hair look like it had a lot of dandruff. After a few minutes of hilarious laughter, Lara was finally able to calm down enough to answer, "I can smell Peter and Bea as they passed through here."

"So we are on the right path, thanks to you, Lara." Lans smiled at her.

Lara blushed, causing her cheeks to turn a fair shade of pink, causing Lans to smile even wider. Grabbing Lara's hand, Lans led the way further into the passageway before coming unto an open door. Entering the room, they found dozens of imprisoned females; some of them looked pale while others were busy rattling their chains when they entered. When the pair entered the room unexpectedly, Lans simply said before the pair began releasing the females, "We've come to save you all."

Meanwhile the others were waiting impatiently for Lans and Lara to arrive while Bea continued working on stabilizing Trey's condition.

Peter who was getting bored from the waiting asked Bea something, "Bea, how come you're so knowledgeable about medicines?"

Bea answered without bothering to look at Peter, "It's because of my mother. She was once a nurse of Dr. Huan in Muse City when I was still young, and I was always tagging along with her so I learned a great deal about medicine. In fact, I was about to become an apprentice to Dr. Huan, when my mother was killed by a group of roaming bandits on one of her expeditions to gather herbs and…" Bea stopped as she paused to wipe tears away from her eyes.

Peter was uncomfortable at the sight of Bea crying so he mumbled, "Sorry for bringing it up."

After wiping her eyes clean, Bea glanced at Peter, her blue eyes looking straight at him and simply said, "It's alright… it's nice to tell someone about it once in awhile"

Max meanwhile was busy standing guard on the entrance leading to the boat when he heard the unmistakable sound of other people. Running towards the others, he told them of the news, "People, I think we're about to have company. We had better get ready to greet them."

Peter catching on Max's real meaning of greeting them; began to notch an arrow to his bow. Upon seeing this, Amada gripped his oar tighter with both his hands as he used it to enable him to stand upright. Max also began to notch an arrow.

As the group began to wait anxiously for their unexpected visitors entering from the other way, they were surprised when Lans and Lara along with the rescued females appeared behind them.

"What's happening?" Lans whispered upon seeing them armed.

Peter merely nodded his head towards the other entranceway where voices could now be heard. Unsheathing his sword, Lans gripped the handle tighter as the voices drew even closer.


	18. C18: Rebuilding what was once lost

C18: Rebuilding what was once lost

As Lans and his companions readied themselves for whatever might be approaching them, Lara who was hiding by the entrance, suddenly raised her right palm and formed a fist, and loudly whispered, "I can hear them clearly now."

Leaning closer into the doorway which was partially filled with rubble, Lara tried to figure out who or what was approaching them when she heard a slightly feminine voice saying, "I don't know, Tsai, those kids might have run off when they heard Muse fell."

"I doubt it, Hanna. Lans and his friends aren't the type to just run away when the going gets rough." replied the voice that Lara knew belonged to Tsai.

Smiling broadly, Lara moved into the partially cleared opening and shouted happily, "TSAI! Where over here! It's me, Lara. And Lans is with me as well."

The sounds of pounding feet on the ground could be heard just as Tsai and a large female warrior armed with a sword and buckle burst into the room, as well as a dozen armed men. Taking in the site of everyone's condition, the female quickly barked out orders. "Christian, get back to Tuta and tell him to bring several of his orderlies as well as a couple of stretchers, we have a couple of wounded over here.

"Yes, ma'am." One of the men answered before retreating back to the tunnel.

"George! Fred! I want you to get these women safely outside and no ogling them in the dark. They've been traumatized enough and if I DO hear about anything to them while they're in your custody, YOU TWO WILL BE SCRUBBING TOILETS UNTIL THE END OF THE WAR!" the female threatened two guys who were initially excited at their orders.

"The rest of you start cleaning up this place." The female warrior told the rest, as they immediately broke into pairs and began clearing the rubble from around the cavern.

While this was all going on, Tsai approached Lans and hugged him tightly. "I knew you guys would still be here, but I didn't exactly expect you to be underneath North Window."

"It's a long story, but basically, we went here to save Peter", Lans told him as they broke off from the hug.

"So… what brings you here, Tsai?" Max asked him as he leaned heavily on his brother's back.

"Ah, well I can understand if you haven't been kept in the loop. A lot has happened, Max." Tsai replied.

"And most of the what happened isn't good for us." The female warrior said as she finally approached the group. "Btw, I'm Hanna," she said as a way of introducing herself, while carefully scrutinizing everyone in the group but taking longer in examining the state of Lans. "And I'm in charge of clearing the rubble for now." Hanna said as an afterthought.

"Oh nice to meet you, I'm Lans." Lans introduced himself, "And this is Lara.", Lans said as he cheerfully draped his arm over Lara's shoulder briefly before removing it to point at the two brothers, "Those two over there are Peter and Max." Then motioning over to the Bea who was busy tending to Trey, "And that is Bea whose busy tending to Trey at the moment since he was badly wounded during the fight a couple of hours ago." Lans finished as he pointed to the fallen skeleton a couple of yard away.

"Hmmmm, I can see what Tsai meant when he said you were a strong warrior." Hanna nodded to herself as she gazed at the fallen skeleton. "But what he failed to mention that your companions are also as strong as you seem to be. Lans. I am happy to know that you are fighting with us against Highland but it seems the six of you are in dire need of rest." Hanna noted as she noticed the signs of fatigue and injury amongst them.

At that moment, Amada slowly limped towards them. "Hey Lans, it was fun helping you save your friends, but as you can see, I really should be getting out of here. In fact, I think we all should get out of this place, don't you agree, Tsai?" Amada asked Tsai, as he leaned heavily on him as Tsai helped Amada stand straighter.

"I agree. Come on, everyone. Let's leave Hanna to take care of things here." Tsai told the group, as he led the way out of the cavern and into the tunnel. As the group was going out, Lans managed to hear Hanna mutter loudly, "Of all the nerve, leaving me to do all the work… MEN!"

As Tsai and Amada led the way out into the cavern where there boat was located, they found that a tunnel which they didn't notice earlier was now unblocked.

"We wondered whose boat this was," Tsai told them as they passed by the partially damaged boat.

"That boat sure gave us a hell of a ride, right boys?" Amada proudly boasted.

"Uhm… yeah… right." Max muttered softly to which Peter gazed at him oddly.

As they made their way through the tunnel, Tsai began telling them about what happened in Muse and the current situation they are in right now.

"So as you can see, Lans. Things are starting to look grim around here, but then again, if we don't make a stand right here and now… Who will?" Tsai asked him seriously.

"I understand the situation perfectly, Tsai. There's no way around it… we have to fight… but we still have time to prepare and for my friends to heal their wounds, right?" Lans asked carefully, as they finally emerged from the tunnel into the courtyard where a number of men and women were busy repairing the fallen city.

"I would say just about. Come on, I'll take you to our resident doctor, Tuta. Now mind you, he's still a child, but he's a child prodigy in medicine." Tsai said in appreciation about Tuta.

"Child prodigy? What's that?" Lara asked slightly confused.

"It's a child whose extremely talented at one thing or another, Lara." Max answered.

"Yeah, so says the TEEN prodigy." Peter said in jest.

Max scowled at Peter as the others laughed since it was also true, while Lara looked even more confused. Seeing this, Lans patted her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry about it.", to which Lara gave him a small grin and nodded.

The group finally reached the room where Tuta had set up shop and the others were slightly amazed when they realized that Tsai wasn't kidding around when he said Tuta was a child as well as an experienced doctor, as he diligently examined their physical health and ordered immediate bed rest for some of them as well as bandaging and providing tonics for the more seriously injured among them.

As Lans lied down on the hospital bed, his last thought before falling asleep was about the impending battle between Highland and the people here as well as what role he could possibly provide.

Lans, Lara and Peter were able to leave the next day but Max and Trey had to stay for a couple more days while Bea volunteered to help Tuta in taking care of the patients. Amada was also released the next day and approached the group while they were eating breakfast.

"Well, guys, I'm off." Amada told them as he sat beside Peter.

"Your leaving already?" Lara asked before taking a bite out of a role of bread.

"Yeah, I have to check with my friends in Radat about a way to help these guys out against Highland although I have no idea what we'll do exactly since Highland clearly has the upperhand right now." Amada lamented at the sad truth of their situation.

"Don't worry, with me around… Highland doesn't have a chance." Peter boasted as he took a swig of alcohol which he managed to beg off of Leona.

"I dunno, Petter." Lans told him softly as he toyed with the salad on his plate, "Its great that your able to keep saying stuff like that but in the end, we all have our part to play in this war." Lans said morosely.

"Hey, what's with the negativity?" Amada asked surprised at Lans' somber attitude.

Lans grinned at Amada before stating, "It's not exactly negativity, it's more like, I lack proper training."

"Huh? What do you mean proper training?" Amada asked confused at what Lans said, "With the sword? Kid, the way you fought that skeleton yesterday, you looked like you were a master with the sword." Amada commented.

"Even so, I think I'll go ask Flik or Hanna to give me some tips on how to improve my fighting abilities." Lans told them as he stood up from the table. "Well, I'm off to find them. I'll see you in a bit." Lans told them as he moved towards the direction of the field where several soldiers were training.

"Wait up, Lans." Lara called out as she ran after him.

Amada glanced at the pair before glancing back at Peter. "You know… the kid is right, we all need to get stronger while Highland still thinks they have us beat." Amada said to himself before moving away to the gates.

Peter sat there alone, as he pondered at what had just transpired. "Hmmmm, Lans might be right… but then again… So am I." Peter said to himself before chuckling and continued to empty the bottle of brandy before going to the infirmary, slightly drunk.

Over the next several days, Lans was tutored by both Flik and Hanna on the ways of swordsmanship, and was well on his way to becoming a proficient swordsman when Flik approached him during one of his self-taught practice.

"Lans, I noticed something about you and Viktor also agrees with me." Flik said as he stopped by to check up on Lans' practice while Lara was nearby kicking the crap out of several wooden dummies.

"Oh what's that, sir?" Lans breathlessly asked as he continued to practice in shifting his fighting stances to accommodate the different sword styles which he was slowly learning.

"Hmmm never mind the formality, you can just call me Flik. Anyway, we both noticed that while you are an adept swordfighter you also possess a certain quality, you might say… and…" Flik started saying when suddenly a loud booming voice could be heard from behind him.

"Yo Flik! Did you tell him yet?" Viktor asked as he made his way towards the pair. Noticing Lara and several broken wooden dummies around her, "Hey looking good Lara." Viktor said in encouragement to which Lara smiled at him briefly and then smiled even brighter at Lans, who finally finished his workout to raise a thumbs up at her.

Moving towards the pair, Viktor asked again, "So did you tell him?".

"Tell me what?" Lans asked slightly confused.

"I was about to, when you barged right in, Viktor." Flik pointed out as he jabbed at Viktor's chest before cringing briefly from the effort.

"Whoops sorry about that, well then, I guess it's time he should know. Lans, how would you like to lead your own company?" Viktor asked with unconcealed glee.

Lans was alarmed at their request and asked , "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Basically this, we'd like you to take command of one of our companies as the, at least a hundred to two hundred men but you'll only be managing with those directly in charge of their respective squads. So you won't have much difficulty in managing the men" Viktor answered.

Lans was staggered by Viktor's answer and it took several seconds before he could form a coherent answer, "Hmmm alright, but why choose me to lead them?"

"We noticed that several of the men as well as your friends listen to you and follow your example. But to be honest…" Flik began to say when.

"We're desperate." Viktor finished for him, "We lost a lot of soldiers during our retreat to South Window territory, especially the veteran soldiers as well as majority of the commanding officers in the Muse army. Leaving us dangerously short-handed in terms of command experience, so, Lans… what do you say? Will you help us?" Viktor started pleading while Lans stood there in shock.

After what seemed an eternity, "Alright, I guess I'll have to go meet my men as well as get ready." Lans agreed then added as an afterthought, "By the way, would it be alright if my friend's will be assigned to my unit?"

"Sure, we have no problems about that although having Peter and Max in my company would have suited me well. Anyway, why don't you go ahead and tell them. I'll get your men assembled out in the field in an hour. Anyway, we have to get the ball rolling. Congrats, Lans." Flik said before he and Viktor went to get back to their men.

Lara smiling widely and looking ecstatic, approached Lans and gave him a big hug before saying, "Congratulations Lans."

Lans who was still a bit in shock, merely smiled back at Lara. After Lara finished hugging him, Lans took Lara's hand and together they ran to the infirmary to share the news.

Arriving at the infirmary, the pair entered the room cautiously as they expected the room to be full but was pleasantly surprised to find it almost empty with only Trey and Max who are both being tended to by Bea, who was currently out on an errand. Approaching their friends, Lara ran ahead of Lans to tell them the good news, who were shocked by the sudden appointment of their friend as a commanding officer of his own company.

As Lans stood in front of his two friends, they both looked at him in awed silence before offering their congratulations and were even the more ecstatic when they heard that all of them would be placed under his command.

"That's good news," Max beamed up at his friend, "This is huge, considering Flik and Viktor themselves approached you to give you your promotion."

"Well, it's going to take a lot of hard work…" Lans started to say when he glanced at Trey who was smiling broadly before continuing, "but I hope with all of your help, we can make a difference."

"You can count on me, Lans." Max answered.

"Ditto for me, Lans." Lara chimed in.

"Also me, but I might be held up a little while longer as I recover but no worries, as soon as I'm there, you won't regret it." Trey solemnly answered.

"Don't forget me, Lans." Bea called out as she entered the room, "I just heard. Congratulations on your promotion." Bea said as she stood next to Lans.

"I thought you were going to stay here at the infirmary with Tuta and the others?" Max asked Bea.

"I thought I was, but I decided that I could make a better difference fighting." Bea answered confidently before looking at Lans, "Don't get me wrong, I'll still help out here in the infirmary if I'm ever needed. Besides, your men will get the benefit of my talents." Bea added.

"Don't forget your smoking hot body." Trey slyly added, to which Bea swatted him with her clipboard.

"Hump, just for that, you can forget about having me tend to you." Bea said seriously, before winking at Lans and dissolving into laughter. The others soon joined in.

Peter entered the infirmary clutching a piece of paper and approached the laughing group.

"Hey, what's with all the laughing?" Peter asked.

"Nothing, Peter." Lara answered as she tried to control her giggling.

"Oh okay. By the way, one of the sergeants gave me this letter and told me to bring it to my commanding officer." Peter said to his friends.

"So what's the problem?" Max asked his brother.

"I don't know who my commanding officer is." Peter replied sheepishly.

"Oh that's easy, Peter. It's Lans." Lara proudly said.

Peter looked at Lara and then Lans with a shocked expression before sputtering, "Se… seriously? Wow, that's great news. Looks like were sticking together."

"Yeah, I know." Lans agreed, "by the way, do you have plans on giving me the letter?" Lans asked.

"What? Oh yeah" Peter was flabbergasted, before handing the letter over to Lans, "Sorry about that." Peter apologized sheepishly.

"No worries." Lans answered back, as he opened the letter and started to read it. Once Lans finished reading the note, he looked at his friends and companions, and then gave them his first official order.

"Flik and the others are asking for our presence at the impromptu meeting between us and our subordinates. Let's go.

"Sir, yes, sir." Everyone answered back.

Lans glanced at his new officers before shaking his head lightly, "Come on, guys. It's still me."

"We know that, Lans. We're just showing you the respect you deserve, because quite frankly. You deserve it." Max told him.

"Alright then. I guess I can make allowances but only if were out in public. If it's just between us, you don't have to be formal. Agreed?" Lans asked them.

"Agreed."

Glancing at his friends one more time, Lans moved to the door. "Come on, let's go"

Just as the last of their friends had left, Bea softly said to herself, "And so we begin to find ways to rebuild what was lost as well as protect what we have found."

Max who heard what she said, "Hmmm… that's very profound of you, Bea.", to which Bea blushed slightly before answering back, "Thanks, my mother loved to spout words of wisdom every day, that I got into the habit. Anyway, I have to find Tuta and tell him I what I decided. Bye Max. Bye Trey." Bea told them as she went out the door.

Max' gaze lingered over the open door before he settled down into bed to take his rest. His last thought before he went to sleep was that he'd do his best to help out his friend and commanding officer.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the delay… Life has been busy. ANY IDEAS FOR THE COMPANY NAME? Reader input would be very welcome


End file.
